Locke observes, "It seems as evident that some animals do in certain instances reason, as that they have sense." This certainly derives something like corroboration from the following statement. At the siege of Burtpore, in 1805, the British army, with its countless host of followers and attendants, and thousands of cattle, had been for a long time before the city, when, on the approach of the hot season, the supply of water generally fails. On this occasion, two drivers, each with hist elephant-the one large and strong, the other rather small and weak were at the well together. The smaller animal was provided with a bucket, which he carried at the end of his trunk; but the other elephant, not being furnished with this needful appendage, seized the bucket, and easily wrested it away from his less powerful fellow. The latter was too sensible of his inferiority openly to resent the insult, though he evidently felt it; but the keepers began to contend and abuse each other. At length the injured brute, watching the opportunity when the other was standing with his side to the well, retired backwards a few paces very quietly, and rushing forward with all his might, he drove his adversary into the well. It may be supposed great consternation among the company was the result; and some fourteen hours' assiduous and ingenious labor was required to rescue the ponderous animal from his novel, though not unpleasant, situation. If a helpless living creature, or a wounded person, lie in his way, the elephant will protect and succor him. An incident is recorded in the history of the siege of Seringapatam, to this effect: "I have seen," says the officer referred to, "the wife of a Mahoot give an infant in charge of an elephant, while she went about some business, and have been much amused in observing the sagacity and care of the unwieldy nurse. The child, which, like most children, did not like to lie still in one position, would, as soon as left to itself, begin crawling about; in which exercise it would probably get among the legs of the animal, or entangled in the branches of the trees on which he was feed

ing; when the elephant would, in the most tender manner, disengage his charge, either by lifting it out of the way with his trunk, or by removing the impediments to its free progress. If the little creature should happen to stray away too far, its mammoth guardian would lift it back as gently as possible to the spot whence it had started."

Somnini mentions an elephant, at Naples, which was employed with others in fetching water in a copper vessel, and perceiving that the water escaped from some fracture, he took the vessel of his own accord to a smith's for repair, in imitation of what he had seen done before by his master.

Take yet another example of the shrewd wit of this colossal creature. Some men were teasing an elephant they were conveying across a river. In the boat that was towed alongside they had a dog which began to torment it by pulling its ears. The elephant was resolved to resent the impertinence, and what do you suppose was her expedient? She filled her proboscis with water, and then deluged the whole party. At first the men laughed at the manœuvre, but she persisted until they were compelled to bale, to keep from sinking; when, seeing this, she redoubled her efforts, and it is said she certainly would have swamped the boat, had the passage across been prolonged a few minutes further. Thus much-although much more might be presented-in behalf of the noble qualities of the elephant. We see that he is in no respect inferior to the dog in character, and yet-since the most excellent things are said to lie in a small compass--and the dog does not, like his monstrous contemporary, require two hundred pounds of solid meat per diem, or take up so much room-the prevailing preference for the canine will, doubtless, long continue to obtain among civilized communities.

Even pigs may lay claim to a species of moral character. It is true they are not over nice as to their personal habits or deportment; but, then, they seldom or never perpetrate the high misdemeanors of which some human beings are culpable,

A facetious writer remarks: "Whether food is best eaten off the ground or in a china plate, is, it seems to us, merely a matter of taste and convenience, on which pigs and men honestly differ. They ought, then, to be judged charitably. At any rate, pigs are not filthy enough to chew tobacco, nor to poison their breath by drinking whisky. As to personal appearance, you don't catch a pig playing the dandy, nor picking his way up muddy streets in kid slippers. Pigs have some excellent traits of character. If one chances to wallow a little deeper in some mire-hole than his fellow, and so carries off and comes into possession of more of the earth than his brethren, he never assumes an extra importance on that account; neither are his brethren stupid enough to worship him for it. The only question seems to be: 'Is he still a hog? If he is, they treat him as such. And when a hog has no merits of his own, he never puts on any aristocratic airs, nor claims any particular respect on account of his family connections. They understand full well the common-sense maxim, 'Every tub must stand upon its own bottom.' If there is an absence of

humor in the swinish race, the loss is fully compensated by the love of fun inherent with the monkey tribe. Dr. Guthrie relates the following amusing anecdote of a reasonable monkey. Jack, as he was called, seeing his master and some companions drinking, with those imitative powers for which his species is remarkable, finding half a glass of whisky left, took it up and drank it off. It flew, of course, to his head. Amid their loud roars of laughter, he began to skip, hop, and dance. Jack was drunk. Next day, when they went, with the intention of repeating the fun, to take the poor monkey from his box, he was not to be seen. Looking inside, there he lay, crouching in a corner. Come out!' said his master. Afraid to disobey, he came, walking on three legs-the fore-paw that was laid on his forehead saying, as plain as words could do, that he had a headache.

Having left him some days to get well, and resume his

gayety, they at length carried him off to the old scene of revel, On entering, he eyed the glasses with manifest terror, skulking behind the chair; and on his master ordering him to drink, he bolted, and he was on the house-top in a twinkling. They called him down. He would not come. His master shook the whip at him. Jack, astride on the ridge-pole, grinned defiance. A gun, of which he was always much afraid, was pointed at this disciple of temperance; he ducked his head, and slipped over to the back of the house; upon which, seeing his predicament, and less afraid, apparently, of the fire than the fire-water, the monkey leaped at a bound on the chimneytop, and getting down into a flue, held on by his fore-paws. He would rather be singed than drunk. He triumphed, and, although his master kept him for twelve years after that, he never could persuade the monkey to taste another drop of whisky."

In a family where a common monkey was a pet, on one occasion, the footman had been shaving himself the monkey watching him during the process-when he carelessly left hist apparatus within reach of the creature. As soon as the man was gone out of the room, the monkey got the razor and began to scrape away at his throat as he had seen the footman do, when, alas! not understanding the nature of the instrument he was using, the animal cut its own throat, and, before it was discovered, bled to death. A friend of ours possessed one of these creatures, whose disposition seemed very affectionate; if it had done wrong and was scolded, it immediately seated itself on the floor, and clasping its hands together, seemed to beg earnestly to be forgiven. Mrs. Lee also tells us of one belonging to her eldest daughter, which seemed to know he could master the child, "and did not hesitate to bite and scratch her, whenever she pulled him a little harder than he thought proper. I punished him," she adds, "for each offense, yet fed and caressed him when good; by which means, I possessed an entire ascendancy over him." The same writer

also gives an interesting account of a monkey which a man in Paris had trained to a variety of clever tricks. "I met him one day," says she, suddenly, as he was coming up the drawing-room stairs. He made way for me by standing in an angle, and when I said, 'Good-morning,' took off his cap, and made me a low bow. 'Are you going away?' I asked ; 'where is your passport? Upon which, he took from the same cap a square piece of paper, which he opened and showed His master told him my gown was dusty, and he instantly took a small brush from his master's pocket, raised the hem of my dress, cleaned it, and then did the same for my shoes. He was perfectly docile and obedient; when we gave him something to eat, he did not cram his pouches with it, but delicately and tidily devoured it; and when we bestowed money on him, he immediately put it into his master's hands."

to me.

A monkey tied to a stake was robbed by the Johnny Crows (in the West Indies) of his food, and he conceived the following plan of punishing the thieves. He feigned death, and lay perfectly motionless on the ground, near to his stake. The birds approached by degrees, and got near enough to steal his food, which he allowed them to do. This he repeated several times, till they became so bold as to come within the reach of his claws. He calculated his distance, and laid hold of one of them. Death was not his plan of punishment; he was more refined in his cruelty. He plucked every feather out of the bird, and then let him go and show himself to his companions. He made a man of him, according to the ancient definition of a "biped without feathers."*

In the countries of the Eastern Peninsula and Archipelago, where they abound, the matrons are often observed, in the cool of the evening, sitting in a circle round their little ones, which amuse themselves with various gambols. The merriment of the young, as they jump over each other's heads, make mimic fights, and wrestle in sport, is most ludicrously con

*Illustrations of Instinct.